New Breed Old Story
by Icebox Plums
Summary: The ONLY reason this is still on the site is because I want to see just how far my writing has progressed since eighth grade. Mary-Sue alert, major! Will never be finished.
1. Chapter 1

Leila woke up staring at the ceiling. "How did it get like this?" she wondered. Jiro was outside her window, and trying to break into her thoughts. She stared at his shimmering white-grey scales and bright sea-grey eyes. She stared at the silvery white oval on her palm.

"Still can't believe it, Leila?"

"No, I can't," she answered.

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Three years ago, Leila wasn't the person she was now.

She was walking down the street, heading for the beach. The beach just south of Teirm, north of her simple cottage. The wind was at her eyes, the sun beating down on her face. The smell of the sea lured her in, invited her to come to it's embraces and splash under the salty sun. She could see the pure white sands off in the distance, tickled by the turquiose waves. This was her beach.

She tentatively put her toes in the water, to test the temerature. It was cool, and she dove in wearing just her underclothes. The passion of the ocean drew her farther in, and she dove under. The clear, cold water was refreshing under the punishing sun. She kept swimming farther and farther from the shore. When she looked back, she couldn't see the mainland at all. Suddenly the ocean didn't seem so friendly anymore.

She decided to drift along, floating on her back. For hours, she lay on the surface of the sea, and eventually she had to close her eyes to keep out the sun. Of course, she drifted off to sleep.

-----

"She's fine, look, she's waking up!" A voice swam in her head. Without the energy to move, she had to settle to open her eyelids a sliver.

"Hey, you! Are you alright?" Another voice called. She opened her eyes further, and saw sailors standing around her. She was on a cot, and covered with a coarse white blanket. "Where..."

"Sshhh. save your energy." Said one with black hair. At that moment, a crash was heard and several Urgals stormed through the ship. They talked in an unfamiliar tongue at first, then said something in English.

"Yeess, haalfliing, take..." They tried to pick her up, but dropped her as she screamed. Leila didn't have much strength, but she ran with all her might to the edge of the ship. Knowing what she had to do to lose them, she dove into the unforgiving abyss of the sea.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: sorry I forgot the italics last time. I'll put them in from now on, I promise.

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Leila didn't have much strength, but she ran with all her might to the edge of the ship. Knowing what she had to do to lose them, she dove into the unforgiving abyss of the sea.

Feeling the cool water around her once more, she swam weakly to the surface. Apparently, Urgals couldn't swim, because none of them dove in after her. She smiled inside and slowly swam towards a speck of land in the distance.

She found herself on a very large island. Grateful for any land, she collapsed on the sand.

When she awoke, the stars were twinkling overhead. Leila stared at them, and wondered where she was. Strengthened by her long sleep, she wandered aimlessly away from the beach. The light of the last-quarter moon illuminated her path, as she wandered down a gravel road. She continued on this road until dawn, when she decided there was only one place she could be. Only one island vaguely ner Teirm was this huge: Vroengard, Isle of the Dragon Riders.

She kept going along the gravel road, seeing abandoned camps everywhere. Since the rise of Eragon, the carcassues had been removed from the island, but she didn't see anyone anywhere. "HELLO!" She yelled into the distance. "Is anyone there? Can someone help me?"

_"Repeat after me"_ a voice said in her head. She screamed, but the voice came again. _"Eka ai fricai!"_ it commanded her.

"Eka ai fricai!" Leila shouted. As the echoes died, a group of people came out to greet her. Leading them was a young man with plain brown eyes and plain brown hair. "How did you manage to find this isle on your own?"

As she explained, he nodded along, interested. His face narrowed when Leila told him what the Urgal had said. "Halfling? What did he mean by that?" She shrugged her shoulders and continued her story. When she had finished, he nodded and said, "I'm still interested in why he would imply you are half something. So you know your lineage?"

Thinking hard for a few minutes, Leila thought about her mother, the only person she knew who was related to her. Her mother had never said anything to her about her father, and she didn't wonder until she was about eleven years old.

-flashback-

_mother, how come I don't have a father? Even Alice has a father and she lives in the street._

_You have a father out there somewhere, you just don't know it._

_Who is he, mother?_

_Why don't you go play with Alice and Tom?_

_Why won't you tell me, mama?_

_I'll tell you someday._

-end of flashback-

Her mother had broken her promise. She had died a year ago, when Leila was only fifteen, and on her deathbed had said nothing about her father, only to take care of herself.

"My mother's name was Csia Crest. Other than that I don't know."

"Where is your mother now?" Said the leader of the group.

"Sh-she... died..." a solitary tear traipsed down her cheek as she said this. Her shoulders shook but she took a deep breath and stared at the man who had listened patiently to her story.

"Crest, did you say? I know that name!" Leila's attention was diverted to another man, with black hair and eyes the color of the sea. He introduced himself, "My name is Jack, miss, and I once knew a man by the name of Crest. Couldn't quite say he was a man, but..."

Leila shuddered at this. So she was only half human? She only hoped she had no connection. "Now Kale was a great guy, but there was something _off_ about him, if you get my meaning. Before, he was always a happy fun guy, always with a joke. But after he transformed..."

"Transformed?" Leila thought. "What happened?"

A voice echoed in her head again, _"Just listen, we'll tell you."_

She gasped, and the man with brown eyes laughed. "Shall I tell you now? Although it is rather much of a sob story, would you like the long version or the short version?"

She didn't answer.

"Okay... well I guess that's theshort version, then.Your father, Jiro Crest,was a sorcerer. He was especially powerful,but of course he overestimated himself. Some dark spirit possessed him, and so was born the shade named Kale. Kale wasn't dangerous all the time, though, because every now and then Jiro's spirit tried to resist with all of his strength. While Jiro was occupying his own body, he travelled and searched for the one who could get rid of the spirit. Kale didn't like that, but of course a few potions from some special people with special ingredients... anyway, during his travels, he met a woman South of Teirm named Csia. Of course, he fell madly in love with her, and so on and so forth, and they had you. Once you were born, Kale became so enraged he forcede control and smashed Jiro's potion to bits. Nobody has seen him since."

The one tear on her cheek turned to many, and she fell to racking sobs. She curled up in a ball and fell to sleep, and Jack covered her with a blanket before he headed away.

----------------------in the night---------------

He had been listening closely while Jack and Faolin had explained it to her. They had been preparing a ship for her since she fell asleep, and they had stocked it with all neccesarry provisions and safeguards. Now that he was sure she was related to Kale, he slipped a shiny bright green stone into her vessel. Finally he would get revenge...

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When Leila awoke that morning, she saw Faolin sitting next to a dragon. His dragon was a soft baby blue color, and was blowing smoke out of it's nostrils while sleeping.

"Oh, Leila, you're awake," he said. "We have prepared a ship for you to go back to Teirm. If you would like anything before you leave please say so."

"I would like breakfast, please, if it's not too much trouble," she said in a scratchy voice worn out from sobbing. "I would also like a bath, if you could manage."

Faolin laughed. "Of course, I'll get Derlia and she'll show you the way." He left Leila with her thoughts about her father. _"Was he really once a sorcerer? Then he was a shade? So that means I'm concieved from the foulest of earth's creatures? I..."_ Her mental conversation with herself was interrupted by a snort. She turned towards Faolin's dragon and asked it, "what?"

_"You seem to have a complicated lineage."_

_"Yeah. It makes me sad, but I want to forget about it. I wish I could just start a new life, begin all over. Say, how can I talk, or think, to you anyway? I thought only Riders could communicate with dragons."_

_"Ah, but you are special, I can tell."_

Faolin and an elvin woman entered the camp-ish area, And Faolin introduced her as Derlia. She seemed motherly in a way, even if she was a Rider. She led Leila to a hot spring, where she washed clothes while Leila bathed. The water was hot and steamy, very relaxing. When they were done, Derlia led her to a breakfast table, crowded with Riders human & elf, male & female. Set before her was a delicious meal comprised of meat, sweet bread, and cheese with wine. She saw Jack at the other end of the table and smiled. He waved to her, showing his silvery gedwey ignasia.

After breakfast, Leila was put on the ship they had prepared for her. A soft blue dragon flew in the sky above, watching for any danger. There was none.

Once she had reached the beach with the cool white sands, the moon was high in the sky. Faolin departed, and Leila was left to take everything that was left back to her cottage. Among the items she found a single green dragon egg. It was perfectly smooth, and very beautiful. She knew she should give it back, but since she couldn't get in contact with anyone from Vroengard, she put it on a shelf until she saw them again. _If_ she saw them again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Shoutouts to my reviewers! Chaotic hellfire to those who didn't review! Even a bad review is a review, I don't really care, but I'd like to improve my writing, so from now on I want you all to find at least one error and report it to me. Thankx, loves!**

One month later, there was a knock at the door. She opened it, and three men stood there. She recognised two of them as Jack and Faolin. The other spoke first. "I-I'm t-te-terribly sor-r-ry, but miss, y-you have... I-I p-put..."

"Be quiet, Nex. Leila, did you find a dragon egg recently? Nex says he tried to stash one on your ship."

Nex burst out crying. Going back into the house, she grabbed the egg off of the shelf, and was ready to give it to them, when a young boy came to the door. Hiding the egg behind his back, Jack stepped to the side to allow him passage. The boy looked only fifteen or so. "Leila, hi, my name is Ryu, last week we met in Teirm, and I was wondering if we could..." Jack hurried over to her, egg still behind his back. "It's hatching!" he whispered in her ear. She looked at Ryu, and asked, "Would you like to come in?"

As soon as they were in the house and around the table, Jack set the shivering egg on the table. Ryu's eyes lit up as he saw what it was. His mouth turned into a circle as a bright green dragon disentagled itself from the remains of the egg. It squeaked when it saw him and ran to him. It sat on the table licking itself clean (like a cat), all the while Ryu just kind of sat there, stunned. He reached out to touch it-

"Young man, what is your name?" said Faolin. "Ryu," he said as he placed his hand on the dragon. Leila didn't know what was happening, but Jack winced visibly. Ryu sat still for a minute, hand still outstretched. Leila asked Jack, "what's happening?" Jack replied, "He and the dragon are bonding. It's rather painful but it works out in the end, you get the best companion of your life." Ryu moved and sat back on the chair.

"Leila, what just happened? I-" he put a hand up to his head to push his hair out of his face, and his eyes met the mark on his hand. "Oh no, what's my mom gonna say when she sees this?" The dragon playfully ran to him, and he made a comical scene trying to run away from it. "Young Ryu, you have just been chosen by a dragon to be it's rider. Why do you dishonor this tradition?"

"It stung me! I don't know how you guys must stand it!" While he was talking and standing still, the dragon was nuzzling against his leg. He looked down in surprise. "So it was only the first time, then? Good, I don't think I could have stood that again."

Jack gave him some meat to feed to the hatchling, and Ryu played with it for a while. Eventually, they all fell asleep, Leila last. "What is all this about?" she wondered before she dozed off.

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Nex had managed to convince them it wasn't his fault, but not that she stole it. But now that she was sleeping, it would be so easy...

but he couldn't, yet. Revenge is so sweet as to be savored, and requires preparation. Kale was unnatural, and any spawn of him deserved what they got...

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The sun was shining outside, casting a sephia tone on everything near the window. Leila woke drowsily, and headed to the room where the others were sleeping earlier. She found them in the kitchen, with Ryu making breakfast. Coincidentally, nobody felt like having eggs.

"Morning, sleepyhead," said Jack as he watched Ryu flip bacon. "We thought you'd never get up, you sleep like a dead urgal." Faolin, being serious as always, said, "Leila, would you like to come to Vroengard with us? You are special, and I think we should train you. After all, you could be a courier. It would be much better than your life here."

Tears beaded at the corners of her eyes and threatened to spill. "And be reminded every second of what I am and what I'm not? I couldn't..." She blinked and her tears dropped silently over her cheeks. "I wish I could, but I need a promise that you'll not tell anyone. I don't want to be taunted..."

A miraculous change occured then. Her eyes changed from their normal brownish green to a fiery red. She wracked into convulsions, not noticing her new hue in her hair. She collapsed on the ground and knew no more for a long time.

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He was sure of it now. She should be disposed of immediately, about a week after they landed at Vroengard.

He hoped no one would suspect.

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When Leila awakened, the first thing she was aware of was a horrible pain in her head. She had wondered what it was from. With a cry, she remembered what had happened.

"Are you alright, Leila? Come on, talk to us." It was Faolin. She got up, and at seeing the famliar sights of Vroengard, she shivered. When she saw Ryu, her 'shaded' attributtes faded and she was her normal self again. Grateful for having her looks back, she asked, "What..."

Faolin interrupted her. "The change in you is triggered by emotion. Any extreme feeling will transform you. If you don't want this to happen again then you should learn to control your emotions." Ryu stared at her, mesmerised. His dragon, almost twice the size it was before, hopped off his shoulder and trotted over to her. It glared at her playfully, and she patted it on the head. In her mind she felt another thought, one that said, _"Fun!" _It stalked away, leading everyone to follow it. It led them into a cave, with about ten dragon eggs inside, in all colors of the rainbow.

Jack looked at the little one, it squeaked and ran to a pale grey egg. Leila ran after it, and looked back at Jack. _"Go on," _said his voice in her mind. Everyone else left the cave, even the little green dragon. That's when the little pale grey egg started to hatch.

At first, she was surprised. Why would a dragon hatch for a shade (or at least half shade)? Then she remembered that as of now she was human, at least, mostly human. The small scaled creature was a shimmering shade of dull white, and had eyes the color of the sea on a cloudy day. Half knowing what she was in for, she cautiously reached out to touch it. She didn't actually feel much pain, just a tingle like a small electric shock. When it was over, she watched as a small white oval formed on her palm where she had touched it.


	4. Chapter 4

After she and her 'new friend' had bonded, they exited the cave together, and found a smiling group of Riders. Jack stepped forward and presented her with strips of meat for the hatchling. She felt the familiar sensation of another mind connected to hers, but his was much stronger than any before. She fed her new best friend, and then walked back to camp with the group of people.

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This can't be. Why would she get a dragon? I mean, she is... halfbreed scum. I'll have to take her out sooner than I thought.

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Leila awoke to pale grey scales curling up next to her. Nobody else was awake yet, or so she thought. She picked up her new friend, and tried to tell it they were going for a walk. In her mind, she felt it trying to understand. She moved forward with it in her arms, and the dragon seemed to understand. She walked to the edge of the beach, and threw stones into the water.

"Don't move," a hoarse voice whispered. She felt an unfamiliar pair of arms encircle her neck, and a cold steel blade at her throat. She heard her dragon squeak, and became infuriated. What was this man doing to the poor thing? He has no right! Again, the pure fury she felt transformed her. Startled, the man almost cut her throat, but her quick reflexes protected her. She turned to face... Nex? He was quivering, but his resolve was admirable. Her visage was altered yet again, and she stood in full fury against Nex.

"What do you want, Nex?" She tried to say, but a unreadable muttering escaped her mouth. She approached him, and he backed away slowly. She grabbed her dragon, and told it, _"be safe."_ She picked up a nearby branch and hurled it at him as hard as she could, which considering her new unnatural strength, whizzed through the air like a bullet. He tried to parry but it struck him dead on the side, slicing his tunic though it wasn't that sharp. Her ruby eyes gleamed in the flickering sunset, as she watched him fall to the ground. As she looked away, she resumed her natural appearance at the sight of her dragon. _My dragon,_ she thought while she walked back to tell everyone what happened.

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I can't believe she got the best of me. It's a good thing she doesn't know anything of magic, I would be dead. I won't make that mistake next time. Her dragon will die, too, but I am willing to sacrifice it for a greater cause.

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When Leila walked back to camp, she talked to her dragon. It didn't use words yet, so she tried to teach it by speaking to it as often as she could. Faolin greeted her, and she told him about Nex's failed assassination attempt. He mentally contacted a few people, then rushed off in the direction she pointed them in. Ryu came too, but stopped when he reached her.

"Leila? Are you alright? Jack said that you were attacked!" She looked at him with sorrowful eyes and said, "Nex did it. Before he tried to blame something horrible on me and now he's trying to kill me? Why? WHY?" She sobbed, but didn't change quite yet. Ryu sat next to her as she sprawled on the ground, putting his arm around her tenderly. She rested her head on his chest, and cried into him. He realized he was comforting a good version of a shade, because her hair changed again, even though he couldn't see her eyes he felt her entire body changing. She was still the same person inside, he knew, not evil. Just emotional.

He was caught by surprise when her felt her lips against his. There was nothing he could do but accept her plea and they both gave in to sweet romance.

A few minutes later, Leila and Ryu were laying down together, watching the stars. Their dragons were curled up peaceably next to them, and Leila was 'normal' again. Ryu said something she didn't understand, but she knew he loved her. And even though they hadn't known each other for that long, she also knew that she loved him back.

Leila didn't think it would get any more perfect.

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That traitor. He needs to burn in hell for what they were doing together. He knows full well what she is, but he still carries the illusion that she could be human. Pitiful scum.

Now they should both die.

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**All behold the master of cliffies! But, it's not so much a cliffie when I'm on an updating spree. No writers block this time! A dollar of store credit goes out to my reviewers, past, present, and future! Look for another chapter soon, and I know they're short, but they get to the point, right?**


	5. Chapter 5

The next day, Nex stood trial before the elders of the elite order of the Riders. He was bound, both with ropes and with magic. If he expended enough power to escape, he would surely die. They questioned him in the ancient language, so he couldn't lie if he wanted to. His smirk had vanished, his clothes were ragged and disheveled.

"Nex Thryte, with dragon Hiruldor, you stand before us to explain your actions. You cannot escape and if you do not speak in the ancient language, anything you say will not be taken into account. Do you understand?"

Nex nodded a yes. In the language of the elves, he said, "When Jiro was Kale, he destroyed so many things, including a friendship I thought would never end. I can't believe that any spawn of something so foul as a shade would be any different. At this moment, Kale is probably out there somewhere, controlling Jiro. If his bastard daughter is allowed to live, she could do almost as much damage as her pitiful father did."

The elders talked among one another for a minute, and spoke again, "That does not justify your actions. She is a Rider, which means the dragon, unnamed as of now, cannot find any faults with her. Attempted assassination on a fellow Rider without due cause is always punished by a death sentence."

Nex stared at the ground, fuming. He could have stopped her, but she overpowered him. Now his price for his big ego and skewed sense of morals would be death. He was too ashamed of himself to even try to think someone else would scour the earth of all things he found unfit.

Leila breathed a cold sigh of relief. Even if he had to die, which was sad, he would stop trying to kill her, which was good. Her siver little cuddleball on her shoulder interrupted her mixed feelings about Nex. _"Leila", _it spoke. _"No more death."_

She agreed with it wholeheartedly. She cuddled it in her arms as best as she could, it being an awkward bundle. _"Name."_

_"Name you? Are you a cute boy dragon or a cute girl dragon?"_ She got a comprehending feeling from it, before it said, _"boy."_ She thought of all the boy dragon names she could, but none seemed to fit. With a tear in her eye, she asked him if he wanted to be named Jiro. _"Jiro. Me. Leila."_ Now that her cute boy dragon had a name, she could teach it more words. It definitely needed a larger vocabulary.

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He watched her as the sharp blade decapitated him. With Nex's last thoughts, he suddenly regretted his actions. Before he died, the last sound he heard was his dragon's enraged cries. _"Sorry, goodbye... Hiruldor..."_

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Leila turned away as the bloody face dropped to the gravel. She caught Ryu's eyes as he had turned away, too. Faolin hefted the carcass, and disposed of it. Her eyes were already puffy and red, but she still cried. He held her and brushed a few loose strands of hair behind her ears. Jiro squeaked excitedly as they went into another deep, entrancing liplock. "Jade likes you," he told her. She looked at the small green dragon staring at them with lamplike eyes. "Jiro likes you, too," She replied.

He whispered in her ear, "But I love you."


End file.
